While she might understand the logistics, her gut once again told her that this was all somehow related. Maybe Harold and some of the other ranchers felt Joseph was trying to cheat them in some way. Then there’s Cade’s uncle and the arguments they’d had just before Joseph died. Surely that was just a coincidence?
Her gut twisted into a tight knot. What if Harold wasn’t the only killer? All those ranchers had been giving her mean looks. Was it possible that Uncle Jake was covering for them? No. He didn’t seem like that kind of man.
But how much do you really know about him? Or any of the ranchers, for that matter?
Patience stood there for another few seconds waiting for the snake to move, and finally it slithered on. Breathing deep, she gathered her things. Taking a picture of the gash in the tree with her digital camera, she stored it in her pocket. She needed to see the sheriff right away and tell him about her suspicions. Loading up her car, she sped toward town.
It was up to her to prove if she could see this case through.
CADE WAS DISAPPOINTED Patience wasn’t in his bed when he woke up. The last thing he remembered was her naked body tucked next to his and everything feeling right with the world.
He didn’t hear the shower running, so he figured she’d gone down for some coffee or breakfast. Glancing at the clock he saw it was only seven, part of him wanted to go back to sleep, but he had a lot to do out at the ranch. He hoped Patience would be able to join him while she carried on the investigation.
After showering and changing clothes, Cade went in search of the woman who consumed his thoughts these days.
Downstairs he was surprised when she wasn’t in the dining room. He pushed through the kitchen door to see if she was talking with GG. His grandmother was alone.
He kissed her on the cheek and grabbed one of the cinnamon rolls from the platter she had on the counter. Taking a large bite he moaned. “I tell you if you mass-marketed these things, you’d make a billion dollars,” he said.
“They only taste so good because they came from my oven. No one makes ’em like I do.”
“True. You haven’t seen Patience around have you? I knocked on her door and she didn’t answer this morning.”
His grandmother chuckled. “Knocked on her door? Listen, she’s a smart girl with a good head on her shoulders, and she’s kindhearted. There’s also something sad inside her, gnaws at my gut that someone so sweet has suffered such sorrow. Don’t suppose you’d know what that is?”
Cade frowned. “I have an idea, but it’s not my story to tell. You’ll have to ask her.”
GG eyed him carefully. “She doesn’t look it but she’s fragile,” she said. “Don’t treat her like some weekend fling.”
So, they really hadn’t been as sneaky as they thought. Cade could feel the heat on his cheeks. No one but his grandmother could make him blush.
“I know she’s special. I promise I do. In fact—” Cade stopped himself.
“Tell me.”
“I—” To find the right words was difficult. “I care about her. More than anyone I’ve ever met. There, are you happy?”
She gave him the GG eye, where she summed an entire thought up in one glance. “Like I said, you treat her right. And if I hear otherwise, there will be hell to pay.”
“Yes, ma’am. Do you know where she is? Did she go for a walk?”
“Nope. I put the first batch of rolls in around five this morning and her car was gone. Wherever she went, she left awful early.”
Her car was gone? Cade felt a moment of panic. Stuffing the rest of the roll in his mouth, he waved goodbye to his grandmother and ran back up the stairs two at a time.
The only thing that kept him sane was that her clothes and toiletries were still in her room. He had worried that last night had been too much and he’d maybe scared her off. When they made love he felt as if he’d laid bare his soul to her.
But she’d stayed by him until…he was asleep.
Then she left.
Cade grabbed his keys and wallet.
Calm down. She’s probably taking a drive or maybe she went to the diner.
At four in the morning?
Climbing into his truck, he forced himself to take a deep breath. Why the hell was he freaking out? She probably left to take care of something with the case. He put the truck in Drive and headed out to the site where his father had been killed.
There were tire tracks, but they’d come from a truck, not her little car.
Something caught his eye in the grove of trees to the left. As he moved closer he saw it was her red bandana she used to wipe the sweat off her forehead. He stepped through the underbrush and between the trees. She had been there. Her tire tracks were still fresh. He squeezed the bandana in his hands. Where was she now?
He drove immediately to the sheriff’s office, but didn’t see her car. He decided to circle by the diner in case she’d gotten hungry. That’s when he spotted her car parked in front of the courthouse.
He tried the courthouse door, but it was locked. Glancing around the square there wasn’t much open except the diner and he checked to make sure she wasn’t in there.
Had she been kidnapped?
He ran back to the sheriff’s office. “Sheriff, have you seen Patience?”
“Sure. She’s at the courthouse. Let her in a little while ago. Says she doesn’t want to be disturbed. Why?”
“I was worried about her.”
“You didn’t try calling her?’”
The phone. Cade felt like an ass. He had her cell number, why hadn’t he just called Patience? Instead, he’d run off like a crazy fool.
Where the hell is my head?
You’re in love with a beautiful woman and you can’t think straight.
Love? Oh, hell. It just might be.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he searched for her contact listing.
“She’s supposed to call me when she wants to leave,” the sheriff said.
“Give me your keys, please?”
“Son, she said she didn’t want anyone bothering her.”
“I’m not just anyone. Besides, if she doesn’t want me there, I promise I’ll leave.”
The sheriff watched him for a full thirty seconds. “All right, but don’t be pestering. She’s doing your family a huge favor and you need to let her do her job.”
“Promise,” he said and he meant it. He only needed to see her and make sure she was okay. That was all.
Beau handed over the keys.
Cade walked back to the courthouse, unlocked the door and then locked it again behind him.
At the bottom of the basement stairs he watched as Patience went through every file in a box. She hadn’t noticed him because she was so involved with her work.
“Hey,” he said, “and I’ve been looking all over town for you. Where have you been?”
She turned around quickly and gave him a hard stare. For some reason she didn’t seem so happy to see him. “I’ve been working on the case. I asked that I not be disturbed.”
Her vagueness and the sharp tone surprised him.
“Is something wrong?”
After a moment she said, “I really need to work.”
She turned back to her files.
If she’d slapped him it wouldn’t have hurt any less.
What is going on?
“Can I help?”
She shook her head. “I prefer to work alone.”
“Fine, but tell me what’s upset you. Why are you mad at me?”
She glanced up at him then. “I’m not mad. I’m busy. I should have been doing more from the beginning, I’ve spent most of my time—”
With me.
“What I’m doing right now is an important part of solving your father’s murder and I need to focus.”
“Okay, so you think I’m a distraction. But I don’t have to be. Let me help you.” It almost sounded like begging, and Cade wanted to kick himself for it.
Since when did he beg a wom
an for anything?
Oh, shut it. Last night you would have been her willing slave for one more taste of her.
But this wasn’t his passionate lover. This was the same woman he’d met in her office six days ago, business like and straight to the point. The loving woman who drove him to the edge of sanity every time they made love was gone.
She sighed. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude. I’m tired. I didn’t get much sleep, and I’m not going to until I find those records we were searching for the other day.”
Cade noticed the white around her mouth and her normally rosy cheeks were pale. She was stressed.
“Why don’t I search, while you go back to the B and B and get some sleep? I don’t understand the sudden rush.”
She hesitated, as if she wanted to tell him something important, but then changed her mind. “You don’t know me well enough to understand my OCD tendencies. I have to search every piece of evidence myself and know that a thorough job has been done. Please, Cade. The faster you leave, the faster I can get through this.”
“Sure.” There was no use in arguing with the stubborn woman. She didn’t want him here. “I’ll leave you to your work.”
He stomped up the stairs never feeling more useless than he did in that moment.
17
“THAT COULD HAVE GONE BETTER,” Patience admonished herself. Poor Cade. All he’d wanted to do was help, and she’d turned him away like an errant child. The hurt in those beautiful eyes of his made her heart ache.
When he appeared she’d seen the relief on his face. She should have left him a note.
Her brain had started the process of putting the pieces together and so many scenarios ran through her head that the last thing she needed was Cade front and center.
There was also the fact the sheriff had told her not to share her suspicions with the Randall family until they had some hard proof.
Keeping the truth from Cade wasn’t easy for her. She was an honest person, but this was a necessity. The only way she could think to keep him away was being rude.
Being my normal self.
It had worked, perhaps too well.
She hadn’t lied about needing to peruse every single file on her own. It was the only way her brain could be certain she hadn’t missed anything. In the last two hours she’d made some good progress, only ten more boxes to go.
After brainstorming with the sheriff, they’d decided the missing water files had something to do with the night Joseph was killed. Harold and Joseph had been out in the middle of nowhere, and the river ran not two hundred feet from where the grave had been. Did Harold need those water rights for his property, which bordered the east side of the burial spot?
“From the way he’s been acting toward you and what you saw out at the site, it seems Harold could be our man.” The sheriff agreed with her. “You keep searching for those files. Now that we have this new lead I’ll start digging around a few other places. Let me know if you find anything else.”
As she opened the last box she prayed the files would be in there. They weren’t.
Dejection filled her. There was a good chance Harold had stolen the files, and without a motive it would be difficult to prove their case, even if she found his DNA at the site. Short of a full confession, there wouldn’t be anything they could take to trial.
Frustrated, she put everything back where she found it. Yawning, she pulled up in front of the B and B. Having been up so early that morning she was finally feeling the effects. She definitely needed her bed.
There was hammering on the roof.
She glanced up to see Cade watching her. With his shirt off and the sun behind his back, he looked like a Roman god. She waved up to him, but he didn’t smile.
I probably deserved that.
She could feel his gaze on her as she walked toward the porch. A raw ache filled her stomach, and hammering or no, she knew she had to get some rest.
That was just as well. Separating herself from Cade would be difficult and it might help things along if he were angry with her.
Slipping between the sheets, she listened to the dull thud on the roof. At least he was there. He might not ever talk to her again, but she’d still see him.
Her eyes drooped, and she snuggled into the pillow, wishing more than anything his comforting arms were around her.
CADE WATCHED HER SLEEP from the doorway. She must have been exhausted. Maybe that explained why she’d been so cross with him earlier. Well, part of it, anyway. There had been something she wanted to tell him, but she hadn’t trusted him enough.
His temper had cooled and he knew that now. During the early morning she’d realized something about the case. She’d gone out to the burial site, and then to the sheriff since he’d been the one to let her in.
Cade wasn’t such an idiot that he couldn’t put the pieces together. It hurt that she didn’t trust him—especially after everything they shared the past few days. But he’d come to know her well, and if she was hiding something from him, it was because she wanted to protect him.
There was no other answer.
Pushing people away was what she’d done all of her life. She’d admitted it more than once. Those walls she’d had when they first met had gone back up. He remembered what she said about being called the ice queen.
Whoever gave her that label was an imbecile.
The woman was as hot as they came and she made love as passionately with her whole heart. He’d never been with a woman who gave herself so completely.
So she was a little cranky when she was tired, who wasn’t?
She stretched and he sucked in a breath as her breasts pushed against the taut T-shirt.
“Cade?” She blinked as if she were looking at an apparition.
“I was just checking to see if you want some lunch. GG sent me up.”
Liar.
Yes, but it’s for a good cause.
“What time is it?”
“Almost two.”
She sat straight up and slipped off the side of the bed.
Cade’s jeans felt tight in the crotch area. God forgive him.
“I didn’t mean to sleep so long. I’m afraid I’ll have to skip lunch, but tell GG I said thanks.”
Her tone was kinder this time, but she was giving him the brush-off again.
“How about I have her pack it up so you can take it with you?” He said it casually, but more than anything he wanted to know what was so important.
Shoving the hair from her eyes she gazed up at him. “I’m sorry about before. Once I—well, I tend to be single-minded when I’m working.”
“I’m the same way. Remember the first day we met? You’d given me news that should have had me on the floor, but I had to deal with my biggest problem first, which was taking care of my employees.”
She wrung her hands as if she were anxious. “Look, I’m onto something, but I don’t feel like sharing my theory quite yet. One, I might look like an idiot if I’m wrong, and two, well, I like to have my facts straight before any accusations are made.”
Cade cleared his throat. “I understand that. I’m sorry I was so pushy before. I guess we were both tired.”
“I didn’t like fighting with you.” She pursed her lips.
“Yep. Me, either.” More than anything he wanted to kiss her.
“I can’t let emotion get in the way of this case.”
“Are you saying we’re finished?”
She nodded. “For now. That may sound cruel, but your father deserves my undivided attention. I have to get to my lab and examine the evidence I found this morning.”
“So you’re going back to Austin now?”
Her hands were on her hips. “I have to. Don’t you want me to solve your father’s murder?”
Of course he did.
Patience grabbed her small suitcase from the closet and carefully folded her clothes into it.
What could he say to stop her? Should he say any thing? Was it better this way? He was as conf
used as she likely was. Maybe time would help them both.
Before he could get any words out, she paused, holding a small print she’d bought the night before at the fair. It was a small depiction of the town square.
“What is it?”
After placing the art in her suitcase. She stared down at her toes. “It has to be there.” She glanced up at him. “Can you take me back out to your place? I need to check your dad’s office.”
“Sure, but I thought you went through it yester day.”
“I did.” She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and finger. “I missed something. I know I did.”
Cade wondered what was so important, but kept his mouth shut. She needed him to take her out to his ranch, and for that he was grateful. He wouldn’t push her again until she was ready to share. Whatever it was she saw in the painting, it haunted her.
PATIENCE WAS LOST IN HER reverie. She’d been staring out the window of Cade’s father’s office for several minutes thinking about how she felt earlier at the B and B when she woke up from her nap and found him watching her. At first she thought she’d been dreaming.
He had been watching her with such concern. Patience kept her distance and tried to make him understand why she had to leave.
He’d been respectful. He even met her halfway when it came to his father’s case. On the drive out he hadn’t asked her a single question. She knew it was killing him, but the fact that he didn’t push made her admire him even more.
He and his foreman pounded away on the barn doors and she tried to clear her head. This was no time to think about Cade. Something she’d seen in that painting had triggered her brain, telling her to go back to the family homestead. Something was there.
She stood and made her way slowly around the room, scrutinizing every piece of art, furniture and even the floor as she went. Making her way around the desk she focused on the four framed pictures of Cade’s childhood artwork. Something about the crude drawings had dredged up emotions she’d been pushing down for years.
“There’s something here,” she whispered.
Lifting one of the pieces off the wall, she saw exactly what she hoped for—the corner of a safe. She quickly took down the other pictures. It had been there all along. She pulled on the handle but it was locked. Her gut churned. Every instinct she had pointed to that safe.
Truth and Dare Page 11
